DISCONTINUED XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 2 - Worth the Pain
by FiLora
Summary: [ DISCONTINUED, BEING REWRITTEN.] " The story of a heartbroken girl, and her journeys with not only Rex and his friends, but others she will meet in the future... and all for whom, you ask? Well, that's a secret, I may say " -Iwa
1. New Day

The weather was oddly cold this evening in Mor Ardain. Stormy clouds, hard rain hitting the rooftops of houses and shops, even the occasional lightning strike and thunderbolt. It certainly fit the mood within the house though, as things were pretty down in the dumps.

A blade wearing blue and black looked over to his driver, who was sprawled out on the couch- an obvious sadness clouding the girl. He felt awful for her- apparently, her boyfriend walked out on her one night while she was asleep… and while he hadn't witnessed it himself, he knew that it had to be true, because he knew a witness of the act. This blade went over to his driver now, to see if she was even awake. She was unconscious, as he expected. A sigh escaped his lips as he slouched over, only for him to quickly regain posture upon a familiar voice.

"Dean, how is Lady Helena doing?"

The voice was elegant, and when Dean looked over, a light tint of red could be seen on his face if you looked close enough. The blade he was looking at had long brown hair that was held into place with a ponytail, and a crown. She had brown eyes that looked much like the Special Inquisitor of Mor Ardain's, and she wore a short tan dress with brown and black trim. Her glowing parts were dark blue, and her core crystal was the average square-diamond.

" I-Iwa, hey," Dean stuttered, trying to keep his cool-dude like facade, which she saw right through.  
" How is Lady Helena doing," she repeated, this time more firm.  
"She's sleeping, Iwa… but I do not think she's taking his disappearance too good. He's been gone for almost a week, and she's been sulking around the house…" Dean's tone was worrisome, as this was very much unlike Helena. Iwa sighed, and went to Helena to check on her. She was still sleeping, unable to hear the conversation that was going on.

Iwa sighed, and went to the kitchen to prepare a meal that Helena could eat when she would wake up, which was probably soon, if she had been sleeping around the house all day. This bothered Iwa, but she couldn't find it in her heart to wake her driver up- not in a time like this, at least. So she went to make the meal, and when done, placed it on the counter, before heading off to bed, supposedly. Dean looked at Helena once more, before he, too, went to his room for the night.

About an hour later, the girl emerged from the couch, stretching, and then yawning. Helena looked around slowly, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room. It was now roughly around two in the morning. She slowly got up; you could tell that she had to put a lot of effort into it. She approached the counter where the food was, taking it and going to the table. She sat there for a while, before finally starting to eat it. She seemed to be in a cloud of depression.

"So, you are finally eating again, my lady?"

Helena's ears twitched at the unexpected voice coming from behind her. Her hands shook, her grasp on her fork weakening. Iwa approached her driver and placed her hand on her shoulder; letting her know that she was there for her. This was when Helena began to cry. Iwa patted the girls shoulder, standing by her side while she cried. She didn't shed a tear, she knew it in her heart that the man had been an asshole- what kind of man just leaves? She even caught him in the act of leaving, too! She waited a little bit, for her driver to stop crying.

"Lady Helena… maybe tomorrow, we can go sparring against the Armu? That is your favorite task, you know," Iwa suggested, trying to get Helena to get out of her sad state- this wasn't healthy. Helena merely shrugged it off, with a 'merh' sound now that she was finally done crying _again_.

Iwa sighed- she had to get this girl out of the house.  
"It can be just us two, it'll be fun, okay, my lady?"  
Helena once again shrugged it off, before getting up and heading to her actual bedroom, to sleep for the remainder of the night. Iwa sighed, before heading back to her bed to sleep.

That morning, the cold and gloom weather of Mor Ardain seemed to had passed, so Iwa took charge of the events of the day, swinging open the door to her driver's room.  
"Lady Helena, it is time to wake up," she spoke firmly, showing that nothing was going to get in the way of this armu-sparring activity. Helena rolled to the other direction with a groan, and an almost inaudible "I don't want to."

It didn't take more than the cold silence from Iwa for Helena to finally get out of , the driver got dressed for sparring, wearing a purple skirt, white shirt with purple trim, some black gloves black stockings and some asian-like sandals. Much different than her usual attire. She walked out into the livingroom now, to await for her trusty blade to be ready to go.

"Wow, look who's changed clothes~," the male voice that belonged to Dean said, with a small chuckle after it. Helena looked visibly annoyed at this comment, but thankfully she didn't have to say anything, as her healing blade, Miho said, "You never change clothes either, always wearing this 'work-force' uniform!"  
"Hey! A-At least I have more than one outfit, unlike y-you-" Dean's face was red with embarrassment, as he looked away from the childish girl blade.

"That is enough," Iwa said as she walked down the steps, tying her hair up into her usual ponytail. "I am trusting you two not to ruin the house while me and Lady Helena are out sparring against the armu, yes?"  
The other two blades groaned, but said, "Yes, Iwa." Iwa smiled, and then took her driver outside and to the wastes of Mor Ardain, where the wild armu and ardun lived.

When ready to fight, Iwa gave some of her affinity to Helena, who used her blade's staff similarly to a lance. The armu became aggravated, and began attacking Helena. Helena managed to dodge some attacks in the beginning, but Iwa could tell that her heart wasn't in it. She tried to give some more affinity, but it wasn't going as planned, and she couldn't seem to give more.  
"Lady Helena- I can't transfer more of my power- I need you to put your heart into this, or it might get messy," Iwa warned her driver, but to no avail. Helena just wasn't up for fighting, even if she tried to force herself to be. Iwa could tell that her plan to cheer up Helena was certainly not going the way she planned, once the Armu toppled Helena to the ground.

"Lady Helena!" Iwa called out, rushing to be by her driver's side as the Armu prepared to attack the vulnerable girl, using a block field, which broke seconds after the beast attacked it. They were… certainly done for, it seemed.


	2. Rex n' Friends

Iwa flinched, thinking this was the end for her and her driver.

"Anchor shot!"

Iwa looked up, seeing that the armu was now toppled itself, and there was a group of kids attacking it, alongside blades… and a robot. Oh, and one of said kids was a nopon! How cute, she thought.

Brushing off her dress before getting up, Iwa looked over to the kids as she helped her driver up too.  
"Thank you so much, for saving us," Iwa said gratefully to the human boy, before looking over at his fiery blade. She didn't recognize her at all, but the stare that Iwa got in return was one showing remembrance. Helena was quick to catch onto this, and was now distracted from her depression.

"Do… do you two know each other," Helena asked Iwa, looking at the same blade she was.  
"N-No, my lady, I do not know her…" Iwa said with a small chuckle, before introducing themselves.  
"My name is Iwa, and this is my driver, Helena, it is a pleasure to meet you six."

Rex looked over at Helena, staring at her. The gormotti who traveled with him laughed a bit at his inattentiveness, and said, "call me Nia, that's Rex over there, and his blade Pyra."  
The nopon jumped up, eyes wide as he, too, introduced himself.  
"Tora is Tora!"  
"And you can call Poppi, Poppi," his robot said in return. Iwa looked at Poppi in awe. She seemed to have a core crystal just like any other blade, but it was orange.

"Is your robot a blade?" She asked, not realizing that calling Poppi a robot would offend the nopon a bit.  
"Meh meh meh!? Poppi no mere robot, Tora ashamed! Poppi is artificial blade!" Tora said in an angry panic, causing much embarrassment to his friends, except Rex, who was still in daze.

"Rex, are you alright?" Pyra asked, waving her hand in his face. The reaction Rex gave was cute; startled, stepping back a bit, with a 'huh?' Rex shook his head, and to Nia, Tora, and then back to Pyra.  
"Sorry about that," he turned back to Helena with a cheeky grin.  
"I'm Rex," he held out his hand for her to shake, which she gladly did.  
"I'm Helena, it's nice to meet you, and thank you for saving me and Iwa. We would probably not be here if it weren't for you two," she told him, before letting go of his hand- a feeling Rex didn't particularly want.

"Anyways, I think we best be off, yes, Iwa?"

Iwa's eyes widened slightly, but nodded.  
"Thank you again, Rex, maybe we shall cross paths again," Iwa said as she followed her driver home. Rex was dumbfounded- why were they simply leaving? With a sigh, he shrugged it off, and headed to Alba Cavinich with his friends.

"Lady Helena, why did we need to leave? You could have made some friends there, you know…" Iwa asked in a somewhat cold tone, but was ignored. Helena had other thoughts right now… at least they weren't of _him._ Iwa noticed this, and decided to just keep quiet for the remainder of the day.

-

"So. Rex, you were looking at that girl for quite a long time," Nia said with a teasing tone, catching the ears of every member of the group.  
"What? No way, Nia, you must've been seein' things," Rex tried to say in defense, but Tora seemed to back Nia up.  
"Meh meh, Tora notice it too, Rex-Rex…"  
"Yeah, me too, Rex… It's okay though, she was very nice," Pyra added, smiling at how polite the duo had been to them as they searched for the information they seeked. Rex was silent, until the gang kept focus on their objective, and once their task completed, they went to the inn for the night.

A few hours had passed, and Nia had just gotten out of the hotsprings, Poppi soon to follow, leaving now Mythra alone in the warm water with a few nopon on the other end. Mythra, unlike Pyra, was more interested in Iwa, than Helena.  
"Why doesn't she remember," the blonde aegis thought to herself.  
"Who is she, even?" Pyra spoke from within Mythra's mind, as the two could converse through thought.  
"Iwa, she was a very strong blade from the Aegis war. I guess she wasn't passed down with a journal like Brighid," Mythra told Pyra.  
"I see… well, what was she like?"  
"Well, you see…" Mythra began to tell Pyra about Iwa and her friendship- why they looked so similar in their clothing choice due to being really close friends, and how Iwa was a brave and fearless blade- not some "don't forget your bento" mommy. Pyra sighed, but laughed at the story. It seemed that Mythra really had been close to Iwa, and that was why her presence felt familiar to her. Mythra got out of the springs after her conversation with Pyra was over, and returned to Nia and Poppi for the evening, before the heroes would have to embark on their next journey to go after that artificial blade.

-

That evening, Helena simply could not sleep. Her blades were asleep, but Helena not so much. She watched out her window, a typical task she would do when she had nothing else to do. Her thoughts had returned to him, and she couldn't bear the pain anymore- she was so close to just giving up now, assuming that he had actually left with the intent of hurting her. Dramatic, yes, since she considered taking her life for it- however, that thought was quick to vanish, when she saw Rex and his friends running after something in the dark. Helena's eyes widened, and quickly grabbed her silk robe, and ran out the door.

Nearly catching up, Helena saw Mor Ardain's Special Inquisitor, Morag Ladair, confronting the group. It would be so unprofessional if she had seen her in her night attire, so she hid behind a building that was relatively close by, peaking out at the fight every once in a while. Helena was curious about who this blonde woman was, since she didn't see Pyra anywhere, but Mythra was there in her place. She was unable to make the connection that Mythra was from those stories her father used to tell her about the Aegis war, as Helena had chosen to block those memories out of her head at a young age, after her father's death.

The fight ended, and soon Morag and her blade left Rex and the others, which was when Helena chose to reveal herself to them.  
"That was pretty intense- I can't believe you guys got to fight against the strongest driver in Mor Ardain!"

Rex looked over to Helena, before looking away quickly- he wasn't very mature, and seeing a girl in a nightgown and robe was not something he could handle quite yet. The titan in his helmet chuckled a little bit, and said, "now now, Rex, she's just a girl."  
Helena missed seeing Mythra transform into Pyra, and so she still did not know where Pyra went.

Nia smiled, and said, "Hey Helena," as her blade bowed.  
"I don't think you ever introduced me to your feline friend, what is her name?" Helena asked with a smile. Nia's eyes widened, before she laughed at the misgender of her blade. Dromarch sighed, and approached Helena calmly.

"My name is Dromarch, and I am a boy…" He said as he bowed his head.  
"Oh, my bad, I was unaware…" Helena laughed at her own mistake, before looking back to Rex.  
"So, what was all of that about? If you need some help getting somewhere in Mor Ardain, I would be happy to help!"

Mythra rose a brow, remembering the first encounter through Pyra's eyes. First, Helena didn't seem to want to be around them, but was polite- and now, she was willingly offering them help? Man was she indecisive, she thought.

"Of course! We'd love any help we can get," Rex said with a smile- a normal smile rather than his cheeky grin from earlier.  
"Okay, how about in the morning, then," Helena asked, adding, "since it's pretty late now, and it can be kind of dangerous around here at night."

"Sounds like a plan," Rex said, doing the cheeky grin now, and the two shook on it. They agreed to meet in this exact spot tomorrow, before going their separate ways for the night.


	3. This isn't goodbye

Bright and early the next morning, Helena was waking her three blades up- a surprise to Iwa and Dean… she had been so much more gloom these past several days, and now she was up and at 'em! It was certainly a brain jogger for the day, as the three blades woke up, and got ready to go for the day.

"Why are we getting up soooo early," Miho asked with a groan, as she had Iwa brush out any knots in her long black hair.  
"I am not entirely sure why Lady Helena has suddenly become chipper and full of life again, Miho… but it's for the best, I would say," Iwa responded, getting the last knot out.  
"Now, let's hurry along and go with her, shall we?"

The three blades joined their driver's side, as the three headed out to meet up with Rex and his friends. Of course, though, an Ardainian Soldier spotted Dean, and ran over to him.  
"Dean, we could really use your help today, one of the pipes broke in the castle," the soldier said- it was Captain Padraig; close friend to Dean.  
"Ah, Padraig, nice to see you too... " Dean said, trailing off a moment, before adding, "I was headed out with my friends to accompany them on their journey for the day, but if it's _really_ that important…"  
For once, Dean's guilt-tripping flew over Padraig's head- or maybe it was really a dire soldier shook his head, and said, "Dean, we cannot turn off the water! You seem to be good with water, for a human." Iwa and Miho looked surprised, but Helena was already wandering off to meet up with Rex and his friends. The two girls said goodbye to Dean, before quickly following their driver.

Helena by now was already chatting away with Rex, Nia, and Tora- Mythra on the other hand, stared at Iwa coldly- upset her friend no longer remembered her. No matter, it wasn't very important.

"Lady Helena, it's these guys again? I thought you did not want to engage with them," Iwa was somewhat confused as she looked at her driver.  
"Well, I saw them last night, and-"  
"My lady! You… went outside in your jammies?" Iwa gave her driver a stern look of disapproval.  
"...yes," Helena said with a shrug, not caring about the cold glare. Miho snickered a little bit, until told to stop.

"Annnnyways, we need to help Rex and his friends find out where this 'artificial blade' named Lila is, it's important to their nopon friend, Tora," Helena said, as she guided her head towards Tora. Tora flapped his wings and wiggled his body, saying, "There not much time to waste, hurry now!" Nia made a 'pfft' sound, and said, "Alright, well, lead the way Helena."

Helena took the group all over Mor Ardain- first, they had to find the yellow barrels, then they had to find the Abandoned factory entrance.

Nia looked at the girl's attire today, noticing that today she wore an orange skirt that was not as flowey as yesterday's, and a different shirt with longer sleeves- even the heels and socks were different. She walked ahead of Rex, Tora, and the others to be side by side with Helena.  
"So, Helena was it? What's with the new outfit?" she asked curiously. Helena looked over to the gormotti with a smile, and said, "Oh, yesterday I was training- I assume we will not be fighting anything today, yes? So I chose to wear my casual clothes today."  
NIa looked her up and down again… these didn't look casual to her, but whatever floats her boat, Nia guessed.

By then, they arrived at the Old Factory, and needed to find the key to get in. Poppi found it in a barrel quickly, and announced that she found it.  
"Meh meh! Tora proud, Poppi," Tora cheered. Poppi smiled, and said, "Thank you, Masterpon. Poppi happy to hear."  
With the key, they unlocked the motor allowing the ladder to come down from the side, which would grant them access to the window above to sneak into the factory. Helena helped them through, and then hesitated to follow… she figured that she helped them enough now, and didn't need to help anymore. Rex was the only one who seemed to notice her hesitation, and when everyone went on ahead, Rex turned to her, and said, "why are you standin' around? C'mon!"

"I… I should probably go home now, I've helped you with what you needed, no?"  
Rex looked at the insecure girl. He didn't know what was going on now, but he knew that she was feeling… sad. He walked over to her, and smiled at her.  
"No way, you can stick around, I'd love it if you did."  
Hope was in her eyes as he said this. Maybe following Rex on his journeys would help her find her love… So she smiled, and nodded, before following Rex into the now, he saw Tora hop down to confront the nopon below, so Nia and Rex quickly followed, Helena hopping down the hole last.

"Daddapon," Tora called out in a questioned tone, surprised if it was his father. The nopon turned to Tora, and opened his mouth.  
"Tora? Is that you?"  
The two embraced one another as Tora cried tears of shock and joy. Oh how he missed his father so much, he thought he was dead! This brought a tear to Helena's eye, as she soon turned away so she wouldn't think about it any more than she already was. She wished she could reunite with her father, or mother… but she couldn't.

The moment was ruined by a large, green nopon and a smaller nopon; their names were Bana and MuiMui. Helena recognized MuiMui- she had seen him around Mor Ardain before! The evil nopons summoned for Lila to attack, and kill them, to which Poppi had a great battle against, theoretically, her sister. The two battled as Rex, Helena and the others fought off some average Tirkin, defeating them easily. It wouldn't be long, before Poppi won the battle, and Lyla went against Bana's orders.

When Tora and Poppi stayed alongside Tatazo and Lila, Helena and her two blades also remained by their side, wanting to help in any way they could- though, it seemed like the family of nopon just needed time alone, so Helena merely stood in a corner and watched. She was not prepared to go with Rex and Nia, so it was for the best that she stay with Tora and Tatazo.  
Lila gave Poppi the rest of her ether furnace, allowing Poppi to use her second form now, and that was when Tora and Helena made way to find Rex and Nia.

-

The fight against Bana and MuiMui in their newest Artificial Blade, Rosa was nearly easy with Poppi's new form, Poppi QT, being active, and the two hurried to capture Bana at last, and put him where he would belong- jail.

"Meh meh meh, what more could you want from me, you foolish children," Bana asked tiredly, seemingly out of breath.  
"You gotta put a stop to this," Rex demanded. Helena looked around while Rex and the gang were demanding for Bana to end his schemes, spotting two sinister looking people.  
"R-Rex, Rex, look, uh, some people are um-"

Bana finally agreed to stop production of artificial blades, but then the female of the new duo spoke.  
"That nopon is still of use to us. Do you really have to interfere?"  
The group looked over to them, now, having not heard Helena's warning from just seconds ago.  
Nia gave the two sharp glares, as she said their names, "Patroka. Mikhail."  
Patroka looked over to Nia, boredly.  
"Oh..! If it isn't Nia. Akhos did say you became that of a traitor," Patroka responded.

"Nia know these people?" Tora asked with fright. Nia responded by explaining who they were, and how Bana was a lowlife to be making a deal with these people.  
Patroka threatened that Nia should watch her words, but Mikhail told her, "don't mind her, when the Aegis is standing before us," and going onto a somewhat serenade; hard to tell if it was sarcastic or not.

Helena watched Patroka soon smack Mikhail in the face, hearing Patroka say, "Mik… please, shut up," and his response, "'kay…"  
Patroka then declared what their mission was, and the blades behind the two passed their weapons along to their drivers. Helena hadn't noticed the blades when trying to get the attention of Rex from earlier, and for some reason, felt bad about that. Soon, Rex's group readied their fighting, before battling.

It was nearly impossible to beat them, and soon, Mythra stopped giving the affinity to scan the area. Nia hissed, before stating the reason it was hard to beat the duo was because one was a master defense, the other was weapons galore.  
"I'm ready," Mythra spoke, catching the ear of Rex, who turned to look at her.  
"Are you sure it's safe?" Rex asked, concerned about this power. Helena's brows went up, and she asked, "What do you mean 'are you sure it's safe'? Are we going to possibly die here?!"  
Mythra explained her analyzation, saying it could survive one blow only if they did it under the furrowed her brows, and said, "Lady Helena, I think that's too risky. We should-"  
Helena ignored her blade, as she agreed with Rex and Nia that the plan seemed solid. Though, the plan didn't seem to work well, until a wall of flames came between the two groups.

"Wha-?! Blue flames?!" Patroka growled, as Helena quickly looked over to them.  
"S-Special Inquisitor Morag-!" Helena quickly said, as she and her two blades gracefully bowed to Lady Morag and Brighid as they walked out. Morag simply nodded to them in both a 'hello' and acknowledging their respects- when the three wouldn't stop bowing, Morag told them, "Now isn't the time to bow," before glancing over to Rex.

"Did you not say you wouldn't be reckless?" She asked, as Patroka growled, "the flamebringer…" Rex was embarrassed, so Morag asked another question.  
"So, do you have a plan?"  
Rex looked at Morag, and said, "Well, y-yeah, we need to get 'em under the crane."  
"Very well," Morag said, as the now team of five attacked the two members of Torna.

It took some time, but soon Mythra was able to activate her power, shooting a beam down, targeting the blades' core crystals, killing them. Iwa's eyes widened in slight fear, as she backed away a few steps and stopped giving her driver affinity. Helena too, was in awe, and somewhat in fear. She was surprised by the power, and soon watched Patroka have her emotional fit of rage.

"Patroka! You can't use that power here," Mikhail sternly said, before picking up the girl. She put up a struggle, but in her condition, she was unable to break free from Mikhail's grasp. He chuckled slightly and hopped back onto the ship that arrived to pick them up. He turned to the group and simply waved his index fingers from his forehead as a 'goodbye', and they were gone.

"Just who is that girl," Morag mumbled to herself, as she turned to Helena.  
"Helena," she turned to the driver before saying, "I cannot allow you to continue this journey. It may be too dangerous for you."

"W-What?!" Both Helena and Rex asked in shock, but for different reasons.  
"W-Wh- … as you wish, Lady Morag," Helena said with a sigh, as she really wanted to find her boyfriend, and thought this would be the best opportunity.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, yeah, Helena," Rex asked, as he approached her with a somewhat weak smile, sad that she would be departing from them. Helena gave him a weak but sincere smile in return, and said, "Of course no, Rex. This isn't 'goodbye', but 'see you later'."


	4. Reina

The days seemed to go slow, now that Helena was back to doing what she had started out doing- staying home all day, with no main purpose or goal. It was like this for a few days now, while Rex would get to travel alrest. Helena wished she could go on fascinating adventures like that, but instead, she was not going on those adventures due to Morag's orders. She didn't even understand why she was ordered not to go! Did Morag not trust her?

Helena sighed as she was in the town's marketplace, collecting food for Iwa to cook up for dinner tonight, when she ran into a tan girl, who wore all white- white jumpsuit, white stockings, well, her shoes weren't completely white, but there was mostly white. The only real color on the outfit seemed to be the really big amount of necklaces that she wore, which were all sparkly and pink- gems that shone in the light. She was so pretty! And this girl seemed to recognize her, too.

"L-Lora," She asked curiously, taking several steps towards Helena, before turning her head to the side. Helena looked at her funny, and said, " uh, no, who is Lora? My name's Helena." The girl was embarrassed, but laughed it off.  
"My apologies, you looked like someone I know of… My name is Reina," she said, making the awkward encounter…a lot less awkward. She looked at what Helena was doing and could tell the girl wasn't wanting to do this.

"I can tell… you want to be doing something else, yes," Reina asked Helena, looking at her with the same curiosity as before.  
"Yeah, I want to find my boyfriend…" Helena sighed, looking at Reina's hot pink eyes.  
"Maybe I can help? Can you describe him to me?" Reina asked cheerfully, before fully turning towards Helena.  
"Oh, yes," Helena said with a smile- finally, someone who would want to hear about this.  
"He has silver hair, and blue eyes! His hair is about to his shoulders, and," Helena proceeded to tell Reina about the outfit choice, build of body, and all that she could about Jin. Reina's eyes widened and by the end of it, her jaw was dropped too.

"That sounds just like Jin," Reina said to her after a moment of silence.  
"That's his name! His name is Jin," Helena cheered, before hugging the tan girl.  
"O-Oh my... " Reina said quietly to herself, before adding aloud, "I-I can take you to him, if you would like..?"  
"That would be so wonderful, thank you Reina!"

Helena quickly returned home, to get ready for the adventure. This time being prepared for any fights, by getting into her purple outfit from a few days ago, and brought Iwa along with her- leaving Miho alone at home.

"Lady Helena… What are we doing, exactly," Iwa sighed, looking at her driver.  
"We're going to find Jin! I'm so exc-"  
"Lady Helena, he left you! Can't you see that he wants nothing to do with you?"

Reina observed this, before cutting into the conversation by saying, "Actually, he has seemed pretty down lately. I think you should give it all a chance, miss…" Iwa glared to Reina, before crossing her arms.  
"Very well, Miss Reina." She said, not wanting to argue any longer.


	5. Flashbacks

_A man delivered a flying kick that started with a twirl to one of the other two men he was sparring with. His grin sharp and sparkling, any girl would swoon, and even one of the blades nearby had done just that, making her driver smirked as he spotted the distraction, and took that moment to strike a blow to the other._

 _"Oh come on now, that's cheating," that man said, as he was pushed back a bit, He saw out of the corner of his eye, the other man coming in for the hit. Tossing his weapon into the air, his beloved blade grabbed it, and made an immense forcefield that was 180 degrees left to right, blocking the attack with much strength._

 _"Focus," the foe's male blade announced, as he used one of his blade arts, smirking to the other blade, who simply smiled back with a confident expression on her face- maybe even too confident. Her shield was broken after only one more hit, but her reaction time was better. She jabbed the driver in the gut with the butt of her staff, before tossing it back to her own driver, and giving him one of her blade arts, saying, "blind spot!"_

 _The three men would have continued their sparring match, but a fourth man, this one much older than the other three, approached them._  
 _"This is enough, my sons," he said in a slightly aging voice. The three brothers chuckled, as one spoke, "you should've seen Iwa today, father. She's just getting stronger and stronger!"_  
 _"This is quite impressive, Gale. Maybe you will be the one to rule over Koios, if she keeps it up," the middle-aged man said with a chuckle, patting Gale on the back._  
 _The other brothers looked slightly jealous, but the other female blade began speaking._

 _"Don't worry, Aldrich, we'll win next time, alright?"_  
 _Her driver smiled at her, and said, "Yes, Xenia, we will do much better the next time we battle.. Maybe you can lead? Your speed is incredible!" He was much more like a teenager than a young adult, with his enthusiasm and higher voice._  
 _"W-What? No way, you're my driver, so you gotta lead, you are way stronger than I…" she said with a giggle, as the two soon began gushing over who was better, him or her._

 _Iwa smiled at the two, before looking over to the other brother and his male blade._  
 _"Kiran, you did a fantastic job, today- broke my shield for once, you know," she spoke with a cocky tone, even smirking at the guy, with her hands on her hips. He simply smirked and rolled his eyes at her attitude, before crossing his arms._  
 _"Maybe I'll have to go call Jin~, he'll be sure to distract you-"_  
 _"Hey! Jin and I are not like that, Kiran… and you know that," Iwa corrected him with a stern glare, cocking her head to the side. Kiran laughed at this, almost falling over. Hands on his knees as he caught his breath from his own bad humor._  
 _"Oh come on, you know he likes you as more than friends…" he finally spoke, breath caught._

 _It was at this moment, that Jin and his driver, Lora, approached the Koiosese. Gale straightened up his posture, and gave a dashing grin to Lora- she didn't swoon, and with as sigh, he laughed it off, and greeted her._

 _"Well speak of the devil, here he is," Kiran said as he wrapped his arm around Jin's shoulder. The two wore the exact same outfit all the time- though, it was Kiran who was copying Jin's look, as he loved to tease and fool his fellow blade._

 _"Oh brother, you're such a nuisance. Spare Jin the suffering that is your presence," Iwa playfully mocked, as Jin looked at the other male blade with an awkward expression._  
 _"Alright, alright, lemme just tell the ol' guy something," Kiran said, as he cupped his hand his mouth and Jin's ear, as he loudly whispered, "go for her ti-"_

 _"I can hear you, Kiran!"_

 _Kiran laughed as he quickly ran away, joining Xenia for some tea with the drivers. Iwa sighed, and crossed her arms as she looked directly into her friends eyes. Her expression was soft, gentle, and kind- instead of her usual cocky and daring expression full of confidence._

 _"So, what do I owe the honor of seeing the oh so mighty Jin, and his beloved driver Lora," Iwa asked, Jin blushing out of embarrassment at said comment. He looked away and cleared his throat as he glanced to Lora, who gave him a wave and smile. He smiled back at her, before looking back to Iwa._

━━━━━━━━»•»✞«•«━ _  
_

Jin sighed, as he looked off to the cloud sea from outside the Monoceros. The other members of Torna were eating dinner right about now, but Jin wasn't very hungry at the time, and decided to skip the meal- besides, if he was hungry later, he could just make himself something later.

"Iwa, why… why don't you remember," he questioned, before mentally slapping himself, as he spoke aloud, "of course she wouldn't remember- she returned to her core right in front of you- don't be such a fool."

 _"Me and Lora will be leaving tomorrow, to Torna. I don't really know when we're going to see you guys again," Jin said to Iwa with his smile fading slightly. Iwa chuckled and put her hand to his cheek, saying, "we're friends, no?"_

 _She held up her wrist, to show the charm bracelet that Lora had made the two blades, to show their forever connection as friends._

━━━━━━━━»•»✞«•«━

"She didn't even have the charm, anymore…" Jin recalled to himself, as Iwa didn't have the bracelet that Lora had made for them. He had his still, but he wasn't wearing it. He left it in his pocket for the time being.

Soon, Jin stood upright after leaning on the railing for so long, looking back to the group eating dinner together- noticing that Reina and Freyja were not there. Confused, and somewhat curious, Jin entered the dining hall, and went to Patroka.

"Patroka, where's Reina and Freyja," he asked, his tone showing little emotion.  
"Uh, hello to you too? I have no idea," Patroka said with a shrug, before Mikhail intruded in the conversation.

"Lady Luck headed out to Mor Ardain, I think she wanted to make a new friend or something? She said she heard you saying something one night, and wanted to find out what you meant." Mikhail shrugged as he spoke. Jin's eyes widened- had he for once sleep talked? Grr, this was why he never slept out of that damn pod in the room with Lora. The times he had, he spoke in his sleep, and Reina was a night owl, just like Malos and Freyja, and maybe Sever.

"Dammit," Jin mumbled, as he turned to leave the ship. He knew Freyja was insane, and if his assumption was right, any subtle feeling that Helena might be prettier in Reina's eyes, or any self-comparison that Reina might do, Freyja would eliminate that person's life- and in this case, it would be Helena's.

So with that, he walked out of the ship, and began to head for Mor Ardain's capital.

━━━━━━━━»•»✞«•«━

 _"You're right, Iwa," Jin smiled, as he looked back over to the drivers, Iwa doing the same. Lora was giving a farewell hug to the father of the triplet boys, before approaching the two blades._

 _"I hope you two had a grand chat, hopefully we'll see you soon, Iwa," Lora said with a smile, before taking the hand of her blade to let him know they would be leaving soon. She let go as fast as she held on, before turning her heels and heading off to the docks._

 _"Of course, see you both later," Iwa called out, as Jin hurried to follow his driver. He looked back once, with a smile that had a hint of sadness._


	6. Chapter 6

The masked man walked along the edge of Mor Ardain as the sky started to turn orange. He stopped to watch it, as wild animals ignored him. He wasn't entirely sure where he was to head, but he knew that Reina and her blade would be somewhere on this titan, and he had a rather bad feeling about the possibility that Reina might be looking for Helena.

Jin's ears perked up when he heard the familiar voices, before quickly hiding behind some rocks. As much as he loved Helena, he could not have her finding him here. He just had to make sure that she was fine, and get Reina and Freyja to return to the ship that was more than likely still at the docks, where he left them.

"So, how long have you known him," Reina asked Helena, to which Jin tuned her out, thinking just about how long they had known each other. It had only been about a week or two after they met, that he had left her… and that was a little more than three weeks ago. He shook his head, wondering how Helena could still be so dedicated to him. Why did she have the will to as much as look for him? She was a mystery, he thought.

━━━━━━━━»•»✞«•«━

"I… I guess just a week or two, Reina," Helena said as she looked over to the sunset, "but it feels like I've known him forever." Reina giggled at the comment- how cute! She thought it was adorable that Jin found a girlfriend who was like this, she thought she deserved him. The four soon arrived at Mor Ardain's bulge, near the old factory. This was just the place that Helena remembered Bana being at, and those Torna members..! Was this another set up? Iwa took notice to this, even if Helena was taking this as a simple coincidence.

"So, where's Jin? Or, where do I find him," Helena asked, as she turned to Reina. Freyja seemed to wander off for the time being, looking like she was out of it. Iwa watched the girl, looking at her core crystal with a raised eyebrow.

"O-oh, well, I don't actually know… we just need to wait for the ship to get here," Reina said with a nervous chuckle, adding, "We're part of a group." Helena smiled as she remained silent, patiently waiting for the ship, or Jin. She suddenly felt herself get kicked down to the ground, alerting the attention of her blade. With a squeak of fear, Reina backed away from the fallen girl now, and looked over to see who did this.

"Freyja! What was that about," Reina asked in fear, as the blade's pink eyes looked crazed, and her grin supported that crazed daze. She didn't respond to her driver, as she dove towards the girl trying to get up, but was blocked by Iwa's forcefield. Her sharp glare going from driver to blade now, as she took her lance and jabbed towards Iwa. Staff blocking the jab, the two now battled, as Reina tried to help Helena up nervously.

After several blocks were received, Freyja used her ankle to trip Iwa, getting the girl down on her knees, before giving another kick, this time to the gut, leaving her helpless for the time being. Reina tried to get her blade to stop, but was gently pushed to the side, as she struck the Ardainian.

"Say goodnight~," the dark blade said with a cackle, as she readies to strike the girl, but when she slams down her weapon, it hits nothing. She looks around as her expression becomes insane, and soon, she yells, "What?! How?!"

Reina looks around, as she too, notices that Iwa and Helena are both gone, and it was in the blink of an eye, too. Soon, her blade looks drowsy, and she goes to the aid of the girl.

"Freyja- what was that for? You…" Reina didn't finish her sentence, and remained quiet as her blade began to speak.  
"I no longer serve Torna, and I don't need you any longer, Reina," she said, as her pink crystal glowed. Her driver's eyes teared up, as the two had been close like sisters since her awakening.

"But… why, Freyja?"

Freyja turned her back on her driver as she picked up her lance, before looking off in the distance, awaiting for Torna's ship. Her driver walked over to her, and looked at her expression, which was now cold.

"I only serve under The is who I will take orders from, and no one else."

Reina sighed, and soon walked away from her blade. She couldn't bear the pain of losing her blade in such a way, and she knew of the curse that could be done to blades by this so called "Duchess". She knew she lost her blade, as she began to weep.


	7. Chapter 7

"What is he doing here," The blue haired man in the kitchen asked his female blade partner curiously, looking over to the white-haired man stroking the hair of the out-cold girl. Iwa's expression seemed calm, but Dean could see her anger within. She turned away furiously, before lowly saying to her friend, "I... he... ugh! He saved Lady Helena, and me, from some blade." Dean rose an eyebrow, but then soon regained his confident smirk, before beginning to laugh his ass off, to say the least.

"QUIET! You'll wake her up-" Iwa nearly shouted, hypocrite coming over her, as she was flustered and angry. She looked over to the couple, her gaze harsh as she saw Helena stir in her sleep, and Jin holding her closer than earlier in attempt to calm her down. She reverted her eyes back to Dean, before saying, "I can't just kick him out. He may be a dick, but he saved Lady Helena... he came back for her, when she was in danger."

"So he isn't a bad guy after all?"

Iwa and Dean looked over to the younger blade, a motherly look across Iwa's face.

"Miho, why don't you head back to bed? The adults are talking..." Iwa said calmly, trying to keep the smile she had, even if it was hard not to break down through the mixed feelings she had for Jin right now. He just up and left at one time, didn't bother to explain why, and now he was just entering Helena's life again? Chances were, she was going to just let him walk right into it, and get hurt again! She would not stand for that... but if Jin didn't do just that- stepping into her life when he had- they'd all be dead, right now.

She shook her head as she heard Miho's voice, but unable to hear the words.  
"Can you repeat that, sweetie?"  
"I don't WANNA go to bed, Iwa! I wanna know why the mean man is back," Miho said loudly, causing more stirring from Helena, and more distressed comforting from Jin. Iwa wished she could understand why Jin was suddenly being so... defenseless, so different than how he came off to the family before.

"... No, Miho, you will return to bed at once, and Dean, you will go to bed as well. I have some important business to attend to," Iwa said in a stern voice. This gave Dean some chills, as he picked up Miho, and said to her, "that's right, Missy. It's my turn to read you your bedtime story, let's hurry along now," as he quickly rushed her up the steps, covering her mouth from any audible fussing. Iwa sighed in relief, as she soon prepared tea, and took the tea over to Jin, sitting on the couch across from the couch he was on.

The livingroom was decked out in a sort of old-fashioned style. While it was dark lit, and the furniture was outdated, nothing was ripped up or in poor condition. Iwa made sure to take care of the house, and used the money Dean earned through his jobs wisely. She wanted to get some nice furniture into the house, but the money they earned was not very much, as Mor Ardain was progressively getting worse. Maybe when they all moved to Gormott, would they be able to have more money, and a better house.

She looked at Jin from across the table, cradling his girlfriend and not looking away from her. She was touched, but not touched enough to be convinced he was good in any way.  
"So... you returned, Jin."  
His eyes drew from Helena to Iwa, in a rather cold stare. He was silent for a while, but Iwa soon gave him an expression that demanded answers.

"Yes. I returned, so she wouldn't be killed," he said to the blade across the table, before resting Helena's head on his lap and taking the tea that Iwa so kindly made for him. Once again, there was more awkward silence, as the two simply drank their tea... slowly.

"Why?"

The silence was broken with Iwa's question.

"Why did you leave that night?"

"I have no idea what-"  
"Do not lie to me, Jin! You know exactly what I'm referring to," Iwa spoke to him, her voice booming. Jin's brows rose slightly, as Helena began to stir again. Iwa, noticing this, calmed down and regained her posture, sipping her tea.

"Excuse my behavior. I would just," she simply cocks her head to the side slightly, "like to know why you left my driver, knowing it would pain her?"

Jin's eyes widened now, as he had gone back to looking at Helena while being spoken to. He seemed to be visibly losing any emotional grasp- it was like he was about to crack. Not in an angry way, but... he looked like he was about to cry. He appeared this way for a few minutes, before he seemed to calm himself down, and looked at Iwa.

"So, you think it did not hurt me to leave her, do you?"  
Iwa raised an eyebrow at this, maybe even opening her eyes just a little bit more to look at the man speaking. She took a long sip, as she waited for his answer, to which he gave.

"It killed me. It killed me to leave her! I never wanted to do that, but I had to. She doesn't belong where I have to be..." Jin trailed off, looking back at Helena once more. Iwa took notice to the way Jin looked at her driver; long, sorrowfully. It was like he was remembering something. Iwa didn't know what, since she had died in her first life, but she could tell there was something going on with Jin.

"... Look, if you want, you can stay the night. But... I don't want you hurting my driver again. So, if you're leaving, leave before she wakes up, got it?"  
Jin watched Iwa rise, taking their teacups to the kitchen, and heading to bed. His gaze returned to the usual spot, as he pet the girl's hair, until he drifted to sleep himself.

Iwa went to her room and changed into nightwear. Once changed, she sat on the foot of her bed, cupping her face in her hands. Tears fell from her eyes into her hands, as she sobbed quietly to herself. Why did this man have to complicate her life so much? She felt bad for Jin, but resented the man for leaving her driver in pain. She hoped he would stay, so that Helena no longer had to be in pain. She didn't want her driver to be in pain anymore.

"Please, Architect... I beg of you, make him stay."


	8. Chapter 8

Iwa made her way down to the kitchen, where she would start her daily routine of making her driver and fellow blades breakfast, then do chores, shopping... average things that a stay-at-home mother might do. Her drowsy eyes looked over towards the couch, where the two people were still sleeping. Jin seemed to have fallen asleep at some point that evening, and Iwa smiled ever so slightly, only to remember the pain that he caused her driver, causing the smile to fade. She could not allow him to enter her heart again so soon- as a loving person, it hurt Iwa to not love Jin like a son-in-law. She so desperately needed this relationship to work out! For Helena's sake! With a sigh, she ignored the two, and made her coffee.

The other two blades eventually rushed down the steps loudly, surprisingly not waking up either sleeping souls just across the room, but their time down stairs was quick. Dean headed off to work, and Miho ate breakfast slowly and quietly, upon Iwa's demand. The loud slam caused Jin to wake up, eyes darting open immediately as if he hadn't been sleeping at all. He immediately looked to his lap, to see his girlfriend still sleeping there. He sighed quietly, relieved that she was there still; that this wasn't a dream. He closed his eyes once more, in a possible attempt to fall back asleep... Iwa smiled at this, and now seemed completely calm.

It was eventual that Helena woke up, with a small yawn and sleepy eyes, until she noticed Jin directly above her. Her eyes widened at that point, and her ears felt warm and stiff. She didn't want to bother the guy, she thought he was sleeping- but, it seemed that he wasn't, when he put his right hand on her own hands. He still leaned his head on his fist, but soon opened his eyes, as he could not sleep if Helena was awake.

"J-Jin... You... you're really here," Helena said quietly, before sitting up. She was happy, yet sad- and even angry, but grateful. She was so many mixed emotions, she became overwhelmed. In a slight panic, the girl scooted over to the other side of the couch, and held her knees close to her chest. Only looking towards Jin to make sure he was actually there, to which he was, every time.

Jin seemed saddened by her panicked actions, and folded his hands together. He was silent for a while, until he said the words, "I'm sorry." Helena's eyes widened for just a moment, as she then looked away, in attempt to hold in any tears that may free themselves from her eyes. Jin gave her the space she clearly needed. It wasn't too long, before Helena fled to his arms, tears on her face as she hugged him. Jin was taken aback, as he wasn't expecting this reaction so soon, and failed to hug the girl in response, right away.

"Don't ever leave me again," the girl yelled, choking on her tears, pounding on his chest in what seemed like an attempt at anger or authority, but was really just from an abundance of emotion. Jin let the girl do this for a few minutes, before it becomes too repetitive and he grabs her hand. He feels her try to resist his hand, but eventually her fist unravels, and she just cries.

Helena soon looks up at Jin, and asks, "Why?" Jin looks pained, and then unlocks their eyes from one another, as he looks over to Iwa. Helena's blade gives him a sharp look, as she also wants answers.

"I didn't want to leave you, Helena. It's just, I work with people who you don't need to know-"  
"I don't need to know? Jin! I love you! I don't care who you work with, I just want to be with-"  
"Helena, stop. They're dangerous people!" Jin cut the girl off after she had done the same to him a moment before. Helena remained quiet, as he continued to tell her his reasons.

"I could not bear to have anyone hurt you. These people aren't exactly nice, and we shared a common goal... for a while," Jin looked away from Helena again, but she quickly turned his face with her hand on his cheek so he would look at her.  
"I don't care about any of that. Jin, I'm not some weak child who can't protect themselves. I have a blade- I have three blades, who do a wonderful job at protecting me if I need them to... and I would assume that you would do the same." She told him, her voice still somewhat shaken with emotion.

Going in for the kiss seemed like the right thing to do in Jin's opinion, but the moment the two's noses were in touching distance, Iwa cleared her throat, causing that kiss to have to wait. The two were visibly annoyed, like some kind of restriction was on them when Iwa was around. Then again, maybe it was best she stop them, because who knew where a simple kiss could lead.

"Jin, you do not plan to leave her again, do you?" She asked sternly, as she crossed her arms and looked down on him. Helena's expression became emotionally distressed again, as she looked at him, begging him not to leave. Jin blinked, and then looked at Iwa.  
"No, if you three want to come with me, I won't stop you. Though, I would highly advise at you not..."

Jin shook his head when he heard Helena demand to her blade that they go with Jin, but Iwa gave into this in a heartbeat- she only wanted her driver to be happy. She then headed upstairs to get Miho, so that the girls could go with Jin. Iwa was even nice enough to leave a letter for Dean, telling them they left with Jin, to go deal with some 'personal matters', even when she had no clue what exactly was going on.

— —

Soon, the four arrived to the monoceros, and Jin lead the three girls onto the ship. Malos was right there already, ready to question Jin about his sudden disappearance. However, his interests changed, when he saw a familiar face.

"Well well well, look who's decided to show her own face. If it's none other than Koios' strongest blade, Iwa," Malos said in his booming, but sarcastic tone, similar to the tone he had when Mythra had reawakened. Iwa had no idea what the man was talking about, but she knew he was the legendary Aegis who had caused destruction to the world.

"You work with Malos, Jin!? I knew I should've-"  
"Now now, Iwa, we don't need to fight this over," he said as he approached her with confidence. Any sexual vibes he might try to give the blade were not returned, or appreciated by Iwa, as she kept her arms crossed and expression firm.

"Oh shut up, Malos. With the pain and suffering you've caused the world, from all those stories I've been told, you expect me not to think you want a fight?" Iwa said to him harshly, as he was now checking out the blade's body. He gave her a chuckle, before saying, "what if I told you that you were in those stories?"

Iwa's eyes widened, before sharpening into a piercing glare.

"I would have a journal about it, if that were the case. So you are just... incorrect," she turned her body away from him, as she was starting to get embarrassed by his attitude around her. She tried to keep a serious expression, but he had been circling her the entire time, and it was now starting to get to her head. With a laugh, the dark Aegis stepped away from the poor blade.

"Well, whatever. Jin, why did you bring two hot girls?"

Helena's brows furrowed, as she approached Malos, raising her hand and striking his chest with the same hand.  
"What was that," Malos said with a sly grin, grabbing the girl's wrist.  
"You wanna fight, missy?"

"That is enough, Malos," Jin stepped in, before pushing the two away from each other. He looked to Malos, saying, "don't touch her," but then looked to Helena, and said, "don't touch him either, though." The two gave each other glares, but obeyed Jin.

"Now, Malos, this is Helena, and she's..." Jin could not bring himself to admit that he had been seeing a girl in a romantic way, behind the backs of Torna. Malos was quick to catch on, and gave Jin a cocky grin, before nearly laughing.  
"You have a girlfriend, Jin? I'm so shocked," his tone was sarcastic, but he was sort of genuine. He hadn't expected Jin to move on from Lora, even if it had been five hundred years, give or take.

" **Don't** tell the others," Jin said coldly, to which Malos merely shrugged off, with a, "whatever," and walked off. Jin sighed, and looked at the other two adult women, but before he could explain, Iwa spoke to him.

"How could you team up with that monster?"


End file.
